Experiences of personal recovery in the context of unmoderated online communities centered around self-harming and suicidal behavior: a secondary qualitative analysis

BACKGROUND: Participation in online communities centered around self-harming and suicidal behavior is a complex phenomenon characterized by potentially harmful social dynamics, though it may also involve support. While previous studies have explored peer support within these communities, less is known about how engagement may influence personal recovery and the functions these communities serve. Therefore, this study explored experiences of personal recovery in the context of participating in unmoderated online communities centered around self-harming and suicidal behavior. METHODS: This qualitative deductive-inductive secondary analysis re-examined interview data originally collected to explore peer support exchanges within online communities centered around self-harm and suicidal behavior, using reflexive thematic analysis informed by the CHIME-D (Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning, Empowerment, and Difficulties) framework to examine personal recovery in this context. The dataset consisted of semi-structured interviews with twelve women and one non-binary participant (aged 21-49 years) from all five Danish regions, all with lived experience of psychiatric disorders and previous psychiatric admissions. RESULTS: Participants described how engagement supported personal recovery through mutual recognition, reciprocity, and shared experience. They also described tensions between their own experiences of these communities as meaningful recovery spaces and professionals' predominantly risk-oriented interpretations, contributing to stigma and concealment. Recovery was experienced as complex and ambivalent, involving not only support but also ongoing attachment, emotional burden, and difficulty disengaging. Participants also described challenges related to moral responsibility towards others, exposure to distressing content, and balancing recovery with ongoing participation. Examining recovery in digital self-harm networks highlights important nuances in understanding the roles and functions these networks may serve. CONCLUSIONS: Applying the CHIME-D framework provided a nuanced understanding of how online communities centered around self-harming and suicidal behavior may contribute to personal recovery, advancing our understanding of the functions they serve and what motivates participation. The findings highlight recovery as a non-linear process shaped by both supportive and challenging dimensions of online engagement and underscore the importance of recognizing these communities as meaningful, though double-edged, contexts for recovery.